Community of Kindness by The Editors of Random Acts of Kindness

Author:The Editors of Random Acts of Kindness
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781609252229
Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser

Coming Together Regularly

Commitment is the love that binds energy and desire.

—ANONYMOUS

“It seems like the world really has sped up, and the accelerating spin of the planet is pushing all of us further and further apart. I have fantastic memories of family gatherings with all my aunts and uncles chattering away and doing delicious things with food, while all of the cousins were engaged in some high-energy activity. We were a sporting family, so a lot of my memories were of volleyball or soccer on the beach, occasional get-togethers with baseball games taking over the suburban street where my aunt lived and then, of course, the big football game on Thanksgiving.

“As we grew up the get-togethers changed and then dwindled. I still saw my aunts and uncles occasionally and my cousins less often, since we had all dispersed around the country, but for all practical purposes we were barely hanging on as an extended family. It is easy enough to explain: we all have our own lives and our own circles of friends, and in truth most of what connects us is in the past, but the older I get the more I realize how important our pasts are and how much those people and connections from our pasts are a part of who we are.

“So it was with great pleasure that I received a beautifully decorated invitation to the all-new annual family golf tournament and dinner, and it was even more satisfying when the entire family showed up. That was three years ago and we are still going strong.”

So much can get in the way of our being with those we care about. Instead of just bemoaning that fact, why not take the bull by the horns and make something happen? If you live far apart, make it something do-able—plan a year in advance for some inexpensive location. It doesn't matter if every single person can't show up. Try for something that a good number of you can do, and make it a regular occurrence: a Fourth of July barbecue; a family trip to the lake for a weekend. Rotate so that one person doesn't have the whole burden or organizing it every year.

Whether with family or friends, extended time together is a vital part of being alive and feeling a part of something greater than yourself. As the commercial says, “Just do it.”

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